Army veteran found guilty of murder; faces 25 to life in prison

After only 20 minutes of deliberations, a jury has found U.S. Army veteran Marshall Jackson guilty of second-degree murder for killing another man on James Street last May.

ROCCO LaDUCA

11:40 a.m. After only 20 minutes of deliberations, a jury has found U.S. Army veteran Marshall Jackson guilty of second-degree murder for killing another man on James Street last May.

Jackson, 31, will be sentenced on Thursday, March 15, to up to 25 years to life in prison

The jury has begun deliberating in Oneida County Court this morning whether U.S. Army veteran Marshall Jackson is guilty of murder for shooting Anthony Garner, 24, on May 25, 2011.

11:15 a.m. The jury will first consider Jackson's second-degree murder charge, which carries a punishment of 25 years to life in prison. But if the jury believes that Jackson instead only intended to seriously hurt Garner -- and not kill him -- then they can find him guilty of first-degree manslaughter, which carries a 25-year prison sentence.

Closing arguments lasted about 45 minutes as prosecution and defense attorneys asked jurors to see Jackson's actions as both sides see them.

From the defense, attorney Rebecca Wittman told jurors that video footage of Jackson's actions and Garner's killing on May 25 should raise just as many questions as it answers.

"The video shows you what happened, but it doesn't tell you anything about why it happened," Wittman told the jury.

The confrontation with Garner began when Jackson's friend, Octavius Garrett, started to fight with Garner on a street corner because of a gang conflict that erupted after Garner insulted Garrett, according to testimony.

Garrett then returns to confront Garner about 15 minutes later, and he asks Jackson to join him. Once Garner appears to run away down James Street, the video shows Garrett, Jackson and Jackson's cousin Dominique Cook chasing after him, with what appear to be guns in their hands.

Although Jackson admits that he joined in kicking Garner on the ground, Jackson said he only shot Garner after he saw what he believed to be a gun under Garner's waistband. That's when Jackson's "combat mode" kicked in, Jackson said, prompting him to shoot and then flee.

Wittman also asks jurors to consider whether Jackson would have acted that way if he wasn't intoxicated after drinking several shots and some beer shortly before the shooting that night.

She likewise tried to turn the jury's attention to a mystery gun that was found discarded in a nearby driveway off James Street. While prosecutors say the video shows Garrett throwing his own weapon in the driveway while fleeing, Wittman said it is "equally possible" that the weapon could have been Garner's that Garrett picked up off the street.

10:06 a.m. When it came time for the prosecution's closing, however, Assistant District Attorney Joseph Saba firmly told jurors not to let Jackson hide behind a "coat of whitewash."

Garrett, Jackson and Cook planned to shoot and kill Garner when they returned to confront him, Saba said, based on the fact that they brought deadly weapons to what had only started as a fistfight.

"What you see is what you get here: A man being hunted by three assailants," Saba said, referring to video footage of the killing. "You're going to see nothing other than an execution."

Saba then takes a moment to attack Jackson's attempt to use his military experience as an excuse to kill Garner.

"He's insulting each and every person that has served in the military," when Jackson suggested that the military turns soldiers into "robots" who think they can shoot anyone at any time, Saba told jurors.

"He wasn't in 'combat mode'," Saba shouted, referring to Jackson's comments while testifying Thursday. "You know what mode he was in? He was in murder mode."

9:50 a.m. The jury has begun to hear closing arguments this morning to determine whether U.S. Army veteran Marshall Jackson intended to kill another man by shooting him on James Street last May.

Jackson, 31, of Utica, is on trial in Oneida County Court this week for second-degree murder, accused of killing Anthony Garner, 24, during a street fight in May 2011.

This morning, Judge Michael L. Dwyer agreed that jurors can also consider a lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter if they don't believe that Jackson intended to kill Garner during the shooting.

The defense attorney, Rebecca Wittman, is arguing that Jackson's military "combat mode" kicked in when Jackson saw what he believed to be the handle of a gun sticking from Garner's waistline.

Jackson was involved in the confrontation after his friend, Octavius Garrett, began fighting with Garner. A video shows Jackson, Garrett and Jackson's cousin, Dominique Cook, beating on Garner until suddenly Jackson fires on Garner and runs.

Prosecutors, however, believe that Jackson hunted down Garner to shoot him, and that he could have run away at any moment if he feared for his life.

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